The United States Navy, Marines, and Air Force at work...
Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2005 10:50 am
Hey guys!
WOW. What an amazing two weeks! I've seen everything from the Blue Angels, F-22 Raptor, B-2 Stealth Bomber, F-117 Nighthawk, F-4 Phantom, B-52, B-1B Lancer, F-16 Viper, Harrier, etc etc etc.
It started last week with MCAS Miramar in San Diego (Formerly 'Top Gun'). They featured the USN Blue Angels (my heros growing up which I always love to see and will drive any distance to see them). Got to see the F-22 Raptor for the very first time in a fly-by at the show. They did a full B-1B and F-117 demo, along with demos from F-16 Viper (West Coast), F/A-18C Hornet, A-10A Thunderbolt II (West Coast), Marine Air Ground Task Force, AV-8B Harrier, and of course, the USN Blue Angels with their support C-130 Hercules named 'Fat Albert'. The heritage flight included a QF-4 Phantom, F-51D Mustang (post US Air Force creation), A-10A Thunderbolt II, and F-16C Viper. There were many other performers during the show (tons actually), but those were the most noteworthy. MCAS Miramar is hailed as the biggest Marine/Navy airshow in the USA this year.
Then, this past weekend, I was at NAS Point Mugu up past LA in Ventura County. Unfortunatly, the cieling for the overcast was just about 700 feet, so just about everything was cancelled. Fat Albert did his JATO though and almost immediatly disappeared into the clouds! The F/A-18F Super Hornet attempted to do his demo but if he'd just raise the nose slightly he'd be in the clouds, so he did a few touch and goes (VIA GCA - Ground Control Approach) then landed. There were a few aerobatic performers who did their best to perform with such a low cieling. Kind of a bust since the Blue Angels cancelled... but I did get to chat with the Blue Angel pilots for some time. And they had a nice selection of static displays (thought not nearly as many as MCAS Miramar). Would have been a great show had it not been overcast.
And then, to end this past weekend off with a bang, the next day I went to Edwards Air Force Base Airshow in Palmdale CA (aka Rodger's Dry Lake). As many of you know, Edwards is famous for Yeager Breaking the sound barrier, most air force aircraft made their first flights in the area, and the shuttle often lands there. What a show! If MCAS Miramar was the premiere Navy/Marine Airshow in the USA, then Edwards AFB has to be at the very least tied with Nellis AFB for the best Air Force Airshow. Static displays included the 747 used to carry the shuttle around, the famous Nasa B-52 that drops all the test aircraft (including the X-3), F-22 Raptor, F-117 (out in the open!), C-17, B-1B Lancer, A-10s, U-2 Spyplane, V-22 Osprey, Air Force B-52, Nasa F-18 with elastic wing testing, early model (and weird looking) A-10 used for Nasa Testing, the Boeing Bird of Prey (UAV), Predator, Global Hawk, F-16s from all over including the F-16 Delta Wing, and tons more! But the big part of the show was the flights. Everything in the Air Force Inventory flew. F-22 Raptor put on a full demonstration with a very rare look at it with it's bombbay doors open, the B-2 Stealth Bomber did a full demo also showing us the bombbay and even more rare top of the plane! The B-2 made several passes very slow, once even with gear down! Most people hardly ever get to even see the B-2 let alone slow passes where he shows off the top of the plane! A very historic last flight of a F-117 with a US flag painted on the bottom happened there, after it put on the demo and participated in the final act, it landed back at Palmdale to never fly again. Nasa aircraft put on demos as well, like the F-15 Active (Nasa F-15 with leading wings), Nasa F/A-18A Hornet, and Nasa U-2 SPyplane. Got to see the Dutch F-16 Viper demo (which was amazing), and the F-16 Viper West Coast demo (Hill AFB). The C-17 did a pallet drop and a few slow passes with gear down (I had no idea how much that thing can bank, it really does move like a fighter!). A USAF B-52 took off and performed some simulated bomb runs with pyro, and also did a slow speed dirty pass. The brand new T-6A Texan II USAF Trainer did a full demo and heritage flight with a WW2 AT-6 Texan... and at one point they did a Blue Angel show center cross and opposing pass! Tora Tora Tora was there and did the full pyro technic simulation of the bombing on Pearl Harbor. My home shooting grounds (Planes of Fame Museum) sent our B-25J Mitchell 'Photo Fanny' and out F-86 and MiG-15. The F-86 and MiG-15 performed the usual high speed Korean War dogfight simulation. Our B-25 was the one that dropped the 'wall of flame' pyro. To start the show, a F-16 Viper broke the sound barrier at 30,000 feet. That was awesome. Also, Chuck Yeager was there and actually flew his P-51D Mustang for a few passes (amazing he still flies at his age!). There were a lot of other acts... but the final one I want to mention is the very last and most historical act. I'd class it as one of the top 10 amazing aviation sights I've ever seen. It's called the 'Air Force in Review'... and it was a bit historic this year because of the retiring F-117 and the inclusion of the F-22 Raptor. At Planes of Fame's Airshow, we call our huge display the 'Mass Gaggle of Warbirds'... and we send all our show warbirds up in the air (anywhere from 25-40 warbirds) and fly them in a massive mile long formation. Well, at Edwards, they have the same idea... but they send up one of every aircraft type in the USAF inventory! In a giant giant formation, the follow aircraft flew together:
F-22 Raptor, F-16D Viper, F-16 (Red and White Markings) Viper, T-38 Talon, F-117 (with USA Flag paint job), B-52 Stratofortress, B-2 Spirit, C-17 Globemaster II, C-130 Hercules, KC-135 Stratotanker, and USAF Queen Air. An amazing formation! The only major airframes that were missing were the F-15 Eagle and C-5 Galaxy. After they made their pass overhead, they all split off and the show ended.
So, I'll post some photos in here later today, but what a two weeks of aviation! And in about three weeks, I'll be at Nellis AFB for their airshow (featuring the Raptor, B-2, Air Races, the USAF Thunderbirds, etc.) which marks the end of the Airshow season.
WOW. What an amazing two weeks! I've seen everything from the Blue Angels, F-22 Raptor, B-2 Stealth Bomber, F-117 Nighthawk, F-4 Phantom, B-52, B-1B Lancer, F-16 Viper, Harrier, etc etc etc.
It started last week with MCAS Miramar in San Diego (Formerly 'Top Gun'). They featured the USN Blue Angels (my heros growing up which I always love to see and will drive any distance to see them). Got to see the F-22 Raptor for the very first time in a fly-by at the show. They did a full B-1B and F-117 demo, along with demos from F-16 Viper (West Coast), F/A-18C Hornet, A-10A Thunderbolt II (West Coast), Marine Air Ground Task Force, AV-8B Harrier, and of course, the USN Blue Angels with their support C-130 Hercules named 'Fat Albert'. The heritage flight included a QF-4 Phantom, F-51D Mustang (post US Air Force creation), A-10A Thunderbolt II, and F-16C Viper. There were many other performers during the show (tons actually), but those were the most noteworthy. MCAS Miramar is hailed as the biggest Marine/Navy airshow in the USA this year.
Then, this past weekend, I was at NAS Point Mugu up past LA in Ventura County. Unfortunatly, the cieling for the overcast was just about 700 feet, so just about everything was cancelled. Fat Albert did his JATO though and almost immediatly disappeared into the clouds! The F/A-18F Super Hornet attempted to do his demo but if he'd just raise the nose slightly he'd be in the clouds, so he did a few touch and goes (VIA GCA - Ground Control Approach) then landed. There were a few aerobatic performers who did their best to perform with such a low cieling. Kind of a bust since the Blue Angels cancelled... but I did get to chat with the Blue Angel pilots for some time. And they had a nice selection of static displays (thought not nearly as many as MCAS Miramar). Would have been a great show had it not been overcast.
And then, to end this past weekend off with a bang, the next day I went to Edwards Air Force Base Airshow in Palmdale CA (aka Rodger's Dry Lake). As many of you know, Edwards is famous for Yeager Breaking the sound barrier, most air force aircraft made their first flights in the area, and the shuttle often lands there. What a show! If MCAS Miramar was the premiere Navy/Marine Airshow in the USA, then Edwards AFB has to be at the very least tied with Nellis AFB for the best Air Force Airshow. Static displays included the 747 used to carry the shuttle around, the famous Nasa B-52 that drops all the test aircraft (including the X-3), F-22 Raptor, F-117 (out in the open!), C-17, B-1B Lancer, A-10s, U-2 Spyplane, V-22 Osprey, Air Force B-52, Nasa F-18 with elastic wing testing, early model (and weird looking) A-10 used for Nasa Testing, the Boeing Bird of Prey (UAV), Predator, Global Hawk, F-16s from all over including the F-16 Delta Wing, and tons more! But the big part of the show was the flights. Everything in the Air Force Inventory flew. F-22 Raptor put on a full demonstration with a very rare look at it with it's bombbay doors open, the B-2 Stealth Bomber did a full demo also showing us the bombbay and even more rare top of the plane! The B-2 made several passes very slow, once even with gear down! Most people hardly ever get to even see the B-2 let alone slow passes where he shows off the top of the plane! A very historic last flight of a F-117 with a US flag painted on the bottom happened there, after it put on the demo and participated in the final act, it landed back at Palmdale to never fly again. Nasa aircraft put on demos as well, like the F-15 Active (Nasa F-15 with leading wings), Nasa F/A-18A Hornet, and Nasa U-2 SPyplane. Got to see the Dutch F-16 Viper demo (which was amazing), and the F-16 Viper West Coast demo (Hill AFB). The C-17 did a pallet drop and a few slow passes with gear down (I had no idea how much that thing can bank, it really does move like a fighter!). A USAF B-52 took off and performed some simulated bomb runs with pyro, and also did a slow speed dirty pass. The brand new T-6A Texan II USAF Trainer did a full demo and heritage flight with a WW2 AT-6 Texan... and at one point they did a Blue Angel show center cross and opposing pass! Tora Tora Tora was there and did the full pyro technic simulation of the bombing on Pearl Harbor. My home shooting grounds (Planes of Fame Museum) sent our B-25J Mitchell 'Photo Fanny' and out F-86 and MiG-15. The F-86 and MiG-15 performed the usual high speed Korean War dogfight simulation. Our B-25 was the one that dropped the 'wall of flame' pyro. To start the show, a F-16 Viper broke the sound barrier at 30,000 feet. That was awesome. Also, Chuck Yeager was there and actually flew his P-51D Mustang for a few passes (amazing he still flies at his age!). There were a lot of other acts... but the final one I want to mention is the very last and most historical act. I'd class it as one of the top 10 amazing aviation sights I've ever seen. It's called the 'Air Force in Review'... and it was a bit historic this year because of the retiring F-117 and the inclusion of the F-22 Raptor. At Planes of Fame's Airshow, we call our huge display the 'Mass Gaggle of Warbirds'... and we send all our show warbirds up in the air (anywhere from 25-40 warbirds) and fly them in a massive mile long formation. Well, at Edwards, they have the same idea... but they send up one of every aircraft type in the USAF inventory! In a giant giant formation, the follow aircraft flew together:
F-22 Raptor, F-16D Viper, F-16 (Red and White Markings) Viper, T-38 Talon, F-117 (with USA Flag paint job), B-52 Stratofortress, B-2 Spirit, C-17 Globemaster II, C-130 Hercules, KC-135 Stratotanker, and USAF Queen Air. An amazing formation! The only major airframes that were missing were the F-15 Eagle and C-5 Galaxy. After they made their pass overhead, they all split off and the show ended.
So, I'll post some photos in here later today, but what a two weeks of aviation! And in about three weeks, I'll be at Nellis AFB for their airshow (featuring the Raptor, B-2, Air Races, the USAF Thunderbirds, etc.) which marks the end of the Airshow season.
So sad! They put a million bucks
